Preached by Gregory W. Lee
29 April 2007 (Naylor UMC Only)
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4 -- because of the Fifth Sunday Revival at Wright's Chapel this morning, we are going to postpone our series on "How to Be a Bad Christian" for one more week -- next week we'll pick up on the second way to be a bad Christian
-- this week we are going to continue along the overall theme of our sermon series, though -- which is, "How to Recapture a Vision for our Church" -- and I want us to do so by looking at this passage from 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 -- if you would, join me right now and follow along as I read this whole chapter to start with
1. Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
6. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
8. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9. persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
10. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
11. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
12. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,
14. because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
15. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
-- once upon a time, there was a little railroad engine who worked in the station yard -- it only did the tasks that it was built for, such as pulling a few cars on and off the switches -- one morning, while it was waiting for its next call to work -- a long train of freight cars was in the station yard and needed to be moved
-- the train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take them over the hill -- "I can't do that -- that is too much of a pull for me," the great engine that was built for such work said
-- Then the train asked another engine -- and then another -- only to hear excuses and be refused each time -- no one was willing to help the train or to do what they were made to do
-- At last in desperation the train asked the little engine if it could draw it up the grade and over the hill and then down the other side -- "I think I can," puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train -- As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."
-- Then as it drew near the top of the grade that had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly, but the little engine still kept saying, "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can." -- It reached deep within itself -- and found a strength that it didn't know it had -- and it made it to the top of the hill by dint of brave effort and then , as it went on down the other side, it congratulated itself for a job well done, puffing out proudly, "I thought I could, I thought I could."
-- there's a lot of truth wrapped up in this familiar old children's story -- and there's a lot we can learn from this story -- you know, I imagine that most of us in here have heard this story before -- maybe you had it read to you as a child -- or maybe you read it to your own children or grandchildren -- but I doubt that there's anyone in here who has never heard this story and its great message that belief in self can overcome any adversity
-- that's why I am so disheartened with so many people that I meet nowadays -- they whine and complain about their station in life -- there's nothing they can do about it -- it's too big of a problem -- it's not their fault -- they just can't make it -- they think to themselves, "I know I can't -- I know I can't" -- and so they don't
-- and that's why I am so disheartened with the shape of the church in America today -- I know that I keep talking about this from the pulpit and in our Bible studies -- but I think this is the ministry that God gave me -- to help the church -- meaning the people sitting in the pews and the entire body of Christ -- to help the church reclaim the vision and the ministry that God gave them to do
-- too many of our churches go from week to week with nothing much going on in the light of eternity -- and when they get faced with a challenge or a call to a ministry, they come up with excuses -- that problem's too big -- there's nothing we can do about that -- or, we're already doing this and that and so we can't possibly do anything else -- or, we're really here trying to serve our members and can't really reach out at the moment
-- I can't tell you how many times I've heard people from small churches use their size as an excuse for not doing anything -- we're too small -- we don't have any children -- we don't have any teachers -- we don't have a big enough building -- we don't have enough money -- "We don't -- we don't -- we don't -- We can't -- we can't -- we can't"
-- but the lesson from the story of "The Little Engine Who Could" is just the opposite of that -- the lesson from this story is that you can do whatever it is you set your mind to -- and that's the key -- we are not really limited by our environment or our situation -- we are limited by ourselves and, more importantly, how we see ourselves
-- and that is especially true for Christians and for the body of Christ -- because unlike unbelievers, we have a power within us that can accomplish anything -- as it says in Philippians 4:13, " I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
-- so, what is going on with the church in America? -- what is going on with this church? -- why aren't we growing? -- why aren't we going? -- we aren't we being more effective in this community for God?
II. Turning Your "I Can't" into "God Can"
-- this passage from 2 Corinthians 4 gives us the keys to church growth -- it gives us the keys to seeing ourselves as we truly are -- and it give us the keys to turn an "I can't" attitude into an "I can" attitude -- or, more correctly, into a "God can" attitude
-- so, let's look at this passage again -- look back at verse 1
1. Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
-- the first step in church growth -- the first step at getting back to a "God can" attitude, is to have a sure conviction of what the purpose of the church is -- in other words, what it it that we are called to do
-- Paul tells us in verse 1 that "through God's mercy we have this ministry" -- and then in verse 5 he tells us what that ministry is -- it is preaching Jesus Christ as Lord and it is serving others in His name
-- we exist as a church for two main reasons -- first, we exist to bring glory to God through our actions and through our worship -- and, secondly, we exist to bring the message of God to our neighbors -- to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ and to incorporate them into the body of believers -- into Jesus' church
-- thinking back on the illustration of the little engine who could, this is our train of freight-cars -- this is the task that has been given us -- we are being called to hook up this train -- to the message and service of Christ -- and to carry it to those who need it
-- now, no one said that this is going to be easy -- Paul makes that point several times in this chapter -- we're not just pulling a train on a level grade -- we've got obstacles in the way -- we've got a hill we've got to climb before we can get to our goal
-- Paul says here that one of the obstacles in our path is the work of Satan -- first, he says, Satan has been working in our very churches themselves -- putting his people in places of leadership and encouraging them to twist the word of God -- to promote all kinds of false teachings and false attitudes and "We can't do that" theologies -- to cause division in the body of Christ to distract us from our mission
-- and, not only has he been working inside our churches, but he has been working in the world -- Paul tells us that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers to the truth of the gospel -- they can't respond to the good news of the gospel because they can't see or hear God or His truth -- a veil has been put over their eyes and their ears and their hearts
-- this brings us to the second step in church growth -- namely, recognize your obstacles for what they are
-- I talk with a lot of pastors, and when they come to me and start complaining about all the problems in their churches, I look at them and say, "Praise God! That means that you are doing something right! You've got Satan worried and he's trying to fight back."
-- Bruce Wilkinson related the story one time from when he was in seminary -- he said one of his classmates bragged to the professor, "Since I've come to seminary, things have been going perfectly -- we're having no problems in our life or in our ministry or in our church" -- the professor looked back at him and said, "That is the worst possible thing you could have told me -- that means that Satan doesn't consider you a threat and that you aren't doing anything to cause him enough concern to get his dander up against you and your church"
-- obstacles are a fact of life -- but the lack of obstacles -- the lack of trials and tribulation and affliction -- tells you more about what you are doing for God than anything else
-- look at verse 6
6. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
8. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9. persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
-- here we see the third key to church growth -- Paul admits that trials and tribulations and obstacles are going to come up in your life and in your ministry -- but the key to overcoming them is to rely on a power greater than yourself
-- I want everyone to look outside for a second -- now look back at me -- the same power that created that light -- the same power that created the sun and the moon and the stars and all creation -- that same power is in your hearts in the presence of Christ
-- in the midst of the darkness -- in the midst of the storm clouds and the trials and the tribulations -- God speaks with power and says, "Let there be light"
-- we may be jars of clay -- we may be fragile, perishable items -- we may be in temporary bodies and limited by our strength and our intelligence -- our size and our money and any number of things -- but Paul points out that we have this treasure within
-- we have this all-surpassing power within us that gives us the power -- not only to overcome obstacles and hills in our paths -- but to go forth and hook up to that train -- and to carry the message of God to those in Naylor -- to serve them and to be Christ's hands and feet in this place -- ripping that veil off their minds through our action and our service and our love and our prays to God
-- notice that Paul says that this is an "all-surpassing" power -- do you know what that means? -- that means that there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- that can keep you from doing what God called you to do if you will simply get up and go and do it
-- we might be one of the smallest churches in the Valdosta District, but we have an all-surpassing power within us
-- we aren't limited by our size -- God is omnipresent -- He is everywhere and goes before us
-- we aren't limited by our money -- God owns it all -- He owns the cattle on a thousand hills -- and He will make sure we have the money we need to do what He has called us to do
-- we aren't limited by our abilities -- God is omipotent -- He is all powerful and He can do all and He has gifted us with just the right ability and talent in this church to do what He is calling us to do
-- when a church says, "We can't" -- what they are saying is, "God can't" -- when a church says, "We can" they are saying, "We may be jars of clay, but the light and the power of the living Lord is within us and we can do all things through Him that strengthens us"
-- skip down to verse 13 and let's close there
13. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,
14. because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
-- your actions are the voice of your beliefs -- what you do -- as a Christian and as a church -- tells you and others what you truly believe about God and yourself
-- do you believe that God is all-powerful and can do all things through you or not? -- if you believe that, then you have reached the fourth key to church growth -- namely, to go -- to get up and go forth in faith and to accomplish that which God has called you to do
-- belief without action is meaningless -- belief without action is actually non-belief -- if you believe, then you have to go
-- if you believe, then you have to hook up to that train of freight-cars, set your eyes past your obstacles and on the goal, and trust in the power that God has placed within you that will enable you to complete your journey
III. Closing
-- I want to close by sharing with you a quote from Rose Sims about churches who have forgotten these keys to growing and having a "can do" attitude
-- "nobody ever intends to kill a country church -- like good marriages gone bad, they die from neglect, apathy, lack of vision, and well-intentioned mismanagement
-- "they die silently, one more every day across Methodism -- nobody hears the door bang shut on the faithful few
-- "sometimes they die yelling -- sometimes weeping -- sometimes almost without a whimper -- it happens so gradually [they never even notice]
-- "first the youth and the children are gone -- then nobody gets appointed at conference -- [and the church stands empty] -- someone goes over to dust when it seems fitting to bury an old pilgrim in the church of his childhood -- then everyone at the funeral sits there and remembers Christmas programs and the pieces they spoke -- [and] the old altar where so many found Christ and the men of God whose combined ministries consumed a lifetime"
-- is this to be the fate of Naylor United Methodist Church? -- are we going to look at that train of freight-cars -- and look at our church -- and say, "I can't?" -- are we going to be yet one more statistic in the death of Methodism?
-- or are we going to refuse to be daunted? -- are we going to insist on saying, not, "I think I can" -- but, "I know I can through Christ?" -- are we going to rise up and be who God called us to be -- to do what God called us to do?
-- Jesus told His disciples that there was work to be done and that the fields were ripe for the harvest -- I think He's telling us the same thing today about Naylor -- the question is, are we going to set our eyes to the harvest and do the hard work to get there or are we going to do nothing?
-- let us pray
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